The glorious days of autumn are upon us and now is the perfect time to schedule Fall Pond Maintenance and Pond Netting. It is time to start thinking about taking steps to ensure that your pond is ready for the soon to be falling leaves, and temperatures.
Yearly we post the steps involved in getting your pond ready for the changing of seasons and those steps are consistent year to year. Also the process is partly personnel choice. Are you interested in fall pond maintenance and pond netting and then having your net removed for the holidays? If you are planning on hosting the family for Thanksgiving or other winter holidays you may want to schedule to have your net removed. Fall netting is intended for collecting debris, and is often a choice to use for predator protection, which is why some pond owners choose to leave the net stay in place until spring; but please realize it is not designed to carry a heavy snow load. I think Becky our landscape designer and pond owner had it right when she said “Collect, Protect and Prepare.” These words truly highlight what fall maintenance and netting, and possibly shut down, do for our ponds and water features.
Let’s start with Collect; this means once the netting is in place, it will collect all of the autumn leaves and other organic debris that can cause filtration to clog and pumps to give out. A dirty pond can be detrimental to fish when the organic debris breaks down and emits gases that are toxic to fish when trapped beneath the ice in a frozen pond.
Next we have Protect; once the netting is in place it will provide protection for the mechanics as we discussed earlier but it will also protect your fish from hungry winter predators. These predators can wipe out a pond of fish before a homeowner even knows they are there and gone. As the temperatures drop and the fish slow down, they become easier to prey upon, and without plant coverage they are more visible targets. Fish caves are another way of protecting your fish, but that is a more involved solution to this issue.
Lastly Becky mentioned Prepare; this important element is meant to prepare your fall pond for the winter season and also for next spring. Fall maintenance is intrinsically part of pond maintenance. The cleaning of your pond and removing excess plants, leaves and organic debris, helps prepare it for the winter season and ensure healthier fish. The other decision that pond owners need to make is whether to leave their pond run for winter enjoyment, or to shut it down so it requires less monitoring. Either way, proper steps need to be followed or if needed, our experienced staff is here to answer your questions. When opting to shut down your pond and during winter cold spells, supplemental aeration and prevention of toxic gases trapped beneath solid ice are imperative to fish survival. Joe our Pond Division Lead has 10 plus years of experience and is happy to help you with any questions you may have.
If you are a hands-on-type of pond owner, be sure to check out our website for more detailed information on how to clean out and prepare your pond for fall. Attending to your pond during these glorious days of autumn might be just the thing to do since we don’t know what Mother Nature has in store for us this winter or early spring.
If you would like any more information or to schedule your Fall Maintenance please contact us today.
